Smell of mote

Berkeley, Saturday, November 11, 2023 11 pm

Night falls off. The fog is present. Temperature has dropped. It is the beginning of the Fall season in Berkeley, though we are already mid-way through it, in terms of standard calendar days.

This is my natural weather temperature habitat. My brain right away connects to wood fire smoke and cooking of mote either in Susudel or at my grandma yard in Cuenca.

Susudel is a rural area about 85 km south from Cuenca, in the South Andes of Ecuador. At the headwaters of the Jubones basin, particularly, in the Rio Leon tributary.

I know the reason of Rio Leon name, though, I haven’t asked about the origins of the name Susudel. Is that Kichwa or a local language?

So beautiful days and nights in the hills of Susudel, few hundred meters away from the rock walls. In an adobe house with clay tilts, and brick oven, feed with eucalytus wood, which we collected during day time.

We fed the oven and the fire place, chimney. If my dad was in there will play the guitar, and sing tangos, pasillos, and boleros. A canelzo might be in there. It is my aunts house. A sister of my mom. In her own busy mind, my mom would try to organize things and have some control of something. My aunt will cook more, or cook some buñuelos and honey. It is a gigantic and merry family. Jokes were there time by time, particularly when my uncle Jaime was sound and alive.

My uncle Galo will take care of the fire place. He passed away earlier this year.

Doors and windows are from wood. Wood is everywhere, and a bit of carrizo, which is a tiny bambu. Dogs will try to get in, particularly to the kitchen, but we keep them away. Quisha carajo.

A brick closes the door from inside. Smoke from the fire place is around, hard to notice. There is a fog. Go outside, see the grass, the trees, the smog.

How much this feed the brain. How much this feed the soul. How much this feed love. But I have to move on. But just do not forget to live in this other, slavery?, day by day world.

But those sustainable, heartfelt experiences, will show up in many ways. Probably, we are not to be with our family, who take care of me, grew me up, and vice versa. But I have to take on my path, my essence, and show off than clean, natural version of myself. But those are add ons.

My most natural essential person, at my best, is on my desk, reading, writing, making calculation, or exploring the field, or doing topographic survey, or so many times, even at the lab.

I guess that one has to really try hard to act organically or naturally. It is so important to not get stuck with the different noises, visuals, no relevant words aligned with our purposes, that life presents me.